Dr. Jane Thomas, former assistant dean for student affairs at the WSU School of Medicine, was awarded the Association of American Medical Colleges' Group on Student Affairs Exemplary Service Award. She is the third person to receive the honor, which "recognizes a current or former GSA representative who has demonstrated exemplary service to GSA."

A psychologist by training, Dr. Thomas served in school, regional and national capacities that are almost too numerous to recount.

The form submitted in support of Dr. Thomas's nomination stated "Dr. Thomas is a tireless fighter for all medical students. She has an incredible work ethic. She developed one of the best-organized student affairs offices in the country and was responsible for a myriad of student support services for the largest single medical school campus in the country. She has held most, if not all, of the key positions in the AAMC Group on Student Affairs at the regional and national levels. It is my honor to nominate an individual so deserving of this award."

In the early 1980s, she held various leadership positions in the Central region GSA and GSA-Minority Affairs Section as well as in the Central Region AAMC Women in Medicine Group. On the national level, she was national chair of the GSA-MAS from 1991 to 1993 and a member of the GSA National Committee on Admissions from 1989 to 1994. She was appointed chair of the GSA National Committee on Student Affairs in 1994, a position she held through 1997.

She was a member of the Electronic Residency Application Service Advisory Committee for several years and assisted in the planning and implementation of what is now the Careers in Medicine program through her participation on the Medical Career Planning Initiative from 1997 to 2001. She has served on numerous Liaison Committee on Medical Education site visit teams to AAMC-member medical schools.